This is not music criticism. On this blog, you will only read about music we like.

Monday, August 15, 2016

The Moles - Tonight's Music

We have had a two-decade wait for new material from The Moles, but the wait is over with the release of Tonight's Music. There are no surprises in style of the music, which is just what we devoted fans of Richard Davies' work hope for, but the additional treat is the high quality and delightful variety of the tracks. Davies' muse takes him to the corners, alleyways, and side streets of jangle pop, psychedelic pop, space pop, and chamber pop. Some might observe that all of that comprises Oceania indie pop, and we are likely to agree -- that's why we are such fans! Sweet hooks and clever figures abound, and the compositions are irrepressibly melodic. But the arrangements are designed for delighting the listener's inner space rather than selling five million downloads or providing the background for a car commercial. The journey you are invited to take is for Richard and you, not the masses staring at their phones. As a lyricist, Davies is by turns revealing and inscrutable, gentle and sharp-tongued. The breadth of arrangements probably results in part to the fact that the songs were written over a period of 15 years, resulting in a songwriting chronicle of the years. But my personal suspicion is that Davies would have gifted us with a wide-ranging epic even if the songs had been composed in a tighter time frame. And if you make indie pop playlists of your favorite songs of the year, Tonight's Music is likely to provide an inordinate share of your current list.

Tonight's Music is available now in digital, CD and double LP formats via Fire Records. It was recorded in Boston, NYC, and Western Massachusetts. A native of Australia, Davies now lives in the United States. In addition to The Moles, Davies' projects include Cardinal, and (with Robert Pollard) Cosmos.